"U.S. Envoy Seeks Azerbaijan-Armenian Peace Settlement in 2006
Mediators urge parties to prepare their publics 'for peace, not for war'
By Vince Crawley
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The top U.S. negotiator for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict says 2006 is a favorable year to reach a peace agreement, but an independent group says cease-fire violations appear to be growing after inconclusive peace talks in February.
“This is not a frozen conflict. There are still people being killed regularly,” Sabine Freizer, Caucasus project director for the International Crisis Group, said March 28 in Washington.
Armenians and Azerbaijanis both appear to believe that delaying a peace settlement over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region makes their positions stronger, Freizer said. As many as 19 people, including eight civilians, have been killed in cease-fire violations over the past month, following inconclusive peace talks in Rambouillet, France, she said during a briefing at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). As many as 90 people were killed in 2005."
More:U.S. Envoy Seeks Azerbaijan-Armenian Peace Settlement in 2006- U.S. Department Of State
